EDITORIAL: Limbaugh's views don't represent most of U.S.

Like Republicans everywhere, the GOP in Oakland County is licking some wounds in the wake of the Nov. 6 election.

Having Mitt Romney's "home" county go for Barack Obama by a decisive margin undoubtedly isn't sitting well with the GOP faithful.

But local Republicans were facing an uphill battle, and their task was made even more difficult by their so-called allies such as radio host Rush Limbaugh. Limbaugh likes to claim on his show that his opinions represent the views of a majority of American.

The facts, however, suggest otherwise. Since the early 1990s when Limbaugh emerged as the leading voice on the conservative talk radio, a majority of Americans have voted for the Democratic candidate in five of the last six Presidential elections.

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Moreover, Limbaugh is growing increasingly out-of-touch with the present-day concerns of Americans. Limbaugh certainly has never hid his disdain for feminism. Last winter, however, Limbaugh came in for some unusually harsh criticism after he went over the line for denouncing a young, single woman for daring to speak out about access to contraception.

Republicans ultimately paid dearly for Limbaugh's anti-feminist stance during the recent election. In swing states, such as Michigan and Ohio, women voters went decisively for President Obama. While Obama certainly did well among black and Hispanic voters, his favorable margins among women voters provided a second term in the White House.

Nevertheless, Limbaugh continues to wield considerable influence in Republican circles, and he certainly has plenty of acolytes and dittoheads who hang on every word he cares to utter on his widely syndicated radio show, which has make him an extremely wealthy man.

But for Republicans, who have to face voters every two or four years, the ideological rigidity he has imposed on their party has become a straightjacket that is impeding necessary effort to reach out to significant segments of the electorate.

Limbaugh's a clever entertainer, but his act should not be allowed to cripple a vital American institution such as the Republican Party.